Diversity Matters: How Film Critic Ratings Vary with Critic and Movie Cast Racial Profiles

Abstract

The author explores how racial alignment between film critics and movie casts affects critic ratings and their market implications. Testing the hypothesis of cultural affinity, this research shows that critics’ ratings tend to decrease as the proportion of Black cast members increases, but this effect is mitigated when the critic is Black. A text analysis of critics’ review excerpts suggests the presence of two tenets of cultural affinity: cultural literacy and cultural identity. An online survey further demonstrates that, in the absence of self-selection, Black respondents perceive greater affinity toward movies featuring predominantly Black casts and assign higher ratings to trailers featuring racially similar casts. Two additional analyses show that critic ratings have market consequences: As the proportion of Black cast members rises, critic ratings diverge more from audience choices (box office revenue) and audience ratings, though this effect is mitigated when the critics are Black. These findings underscore the importance of racial diversity in promoting culturally representative content in the marketplace.